Articles Posted inFirm News

Mr. O’Donnell recently received the honor of being one of the few Alaska attorneys inducted as a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers.

“The American College of Trial Lawyers, founded in 1950, recognizes the very best trial lawyers from the United States and Canada. The College’s Fellows are chosen strictly by invitation and only after a rigorous and lengthy investigation. The candidate must be identified as a highly skilled trial lawyer in the opinion of judges and practitioners, and as a person whose ethics, moral standards and collegiality are above reproach. Fellowship is limited to one percent of the lawyers in any individual State or Province, and the candidate must have practiced for at least 15 years.” http://www.actl.com

“The names included on the roster of the College are indicative of the College’s make-up. Every current Justice of the United States and Canadian Supreme Courts save one is an honorary member, having accepted Fellowship at a national meeting of the College. That one is Justice Suzanne Côté, a Judicial Fellow from Montreal, Canada, who was inducted as a Fellow prior to leaving private practice for the Court. Past Presidents of the College include such outstanding lawyers as former Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell and former United States Attorney General Griffin Bell.” http://www.actl.com

Atkinson, Conway & Gagnon is pleased to announce that Peter Scully has joined the firm as an associate attorney.

Mr. Scully received his B.S., magna cum laude, in mathematics from Bucknell University in 2004. Mr. Scully received his law degree, magna cum laude, from Vermont Law School in 2010. Mr. Scully served on the Vermont Law Review and received multiple Academic Excellence Awards for Highest Grade in Class for multiple classes.

Before joining Atkinson, Conway & Gagnon, Mr. Scully clerked for Anchorage Superior Court Judge Frank Pfiffner, and he was an Assistant County Attorney for Suffolk County, New York, in the Municipal Law and General Litigation Bureaus.

On September 27, 2012, Christopher Slottee, a partner with Atkinson Conway & Gagnon, will be participating in a seminar on Commercial & Residential Landlord-Tenant Law. Mr. Slottee will be presenting information and materials on Alaska law regarding residential leases and the obligations of landlords and tenants. Other topics that will be addressed at the seminar include commercial lease issues, the eviction process, and when a tenant or landlord file for bankruptcy.

The seminar is being organized by Sterling Education Services. You can register for the seminar at this link.

Atkinson Conway & Gagnon is pleased to announce that Bruce E. Gagnon and Christopher J. Slottee have contributed to a new publication, Law of Lawyers Liability was produced by the Professional Liability Committee of the American Bar Association, and edited by Merri A. Baldwin, Scott F. Bertschi, and Dylan C. Black. Mr. Gagnon and Mr. Slottee authored the section of the book addressing legal malpractice law in Alaska, including the unique considerations that arise as a result of Alaska’s attorney’s fee law, Alaska Civil Rule 82.

Atkinson, Conway & Gagnon is pleased to announce that Office Manager Jodi L. Walton has achieved the certification of CLM.

Lest the uninformed mistakenly believe that “CLM” is being used in the Urban Dictionary sense of “Career Limiting Move” – e.g., chuckling at the Managing Partner’s bad comb over — we assure that this is not the case. Rather, “CLM” as we use it here is a career improving move. The acronym actually stands for “Certified Legal Manager.”

The CLM certification is issued by the Association of Legal Administrators (“ALA”). To earn this distinction, a person must be employed full-time in managing a legal organization, must have at least three years experience in the management position, must complete a course of study in areas key to legal organization management, must pass an examination on those areas, must adhere to a code of ethics, and must commit to fulfilling continuing education requirements.

The Alaska and American Bar Associations encourage all attorneys to provide pro bono legal services to the community and people in need. Atkinson Conway & Gagnon has made a concerted effort to fulfill its obligation to the community by partnering for the last five years with the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault and provide pro bono legal representation to victims of domestic assault who are seeking long term protective orders. In 2010, Atkinson Conway & Gagnon donated over 90 hours of legal assistance in the course of representing victims of domestic violence. Over the past five years, Atkinson Conway & Gagnon has donated over 294 hours in representing these victims.

The Alaska Network on Domestic Violence is an invaluable resource to the community. Made up of 17 programs, the Alaska Network on Domestic Violence provides services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, including emergency shelter, 24-hour crisis hotlines, food, clothing, transportation, legal assistance, counseling, and community education. The Alaska Network on Domestic Violence’s website contains valuable information for victims of domestic violence, including many links to additional information available on the web.

The Alaska Court System also provides helpful information to individuals seeking protective orders at its Family Law Self-Help Center. The Family Law Self-Help Center provides links to the forms needed to obtain a protective order as well as a good description of the process.

Atkinson, Conway & Gagnon is pleased to announce that Sarah A. Marsey has joined the firm as an associate attorney.

Ms. Marsey is a 2010 graduate of Rutgers School of Law. She also holds a B.A. degree in political science from San Francisco State University.

At Rutgers, Ms. Marsey competed in moot court and appellate advocacy. She received the school’s Nathan N. Schildkraut Award for excelling in appellate advocacy, taking first place in the David Cohn Appellate Advocacy Competition. She was a member of the Rutgers National Appellate Advocacy Competition team. Ms. Marsey was also an editor of the Rutgers Business Law Journal.

Atkinson, Conway & Gagnon is pleased to announce that Bruce E. Gagnon has been named as the “Anchorage Best Lawyers Bet-the-Company Litigator of the Year” for 2011.

The honor was conferred by The Best Lawyers in America, the oldest and most respected peer-review publication in the legal profession. After more than a quarter of a century in publication, Best Lawyers is designating “Lawyers of the Year” in high-profile legal specialties in large legal communities. Only a single lawyer in each specialty in each community is being honored as the “Lawyer of the Year.”

The lawyers being honored as “Lawyers of the Year” have received particularly high ratings in surveys by earning a high level of respect among their peers for their abilities, professionalism, and integrity.

ACG lawyer Robert J. Dickson has been elected as a director of The Alaska Support Industry Alliance. The election took place at the group’s annual meeting held in Anchorage on October 7.

The Alliance is a trade organization that represents nearly 500 companies and some 40,000 Alaskan workers providing goods and services to the oil, gas and mining industries. The Allliance was founded in 1979 and works for responsible oil, gas and mining development in the state.

Bob Dickson will serve a three year term as Director of The Alliance. He is one of 21 directors of the organization. Mr. Dickson has previously served as a director for the entity.

U.S. News & World Report has released its listing of the “Best Law Firms.” Atkinson, Conway & Gagnon was listed as a “Best Law Firm” in Alaska in 10 different categories.

For years, U.S News & World Report has famously published rankings of U.S. law schools. The magazine has now expanded into ranking law firms. The rankings were developed in collaberation with Best Lawyers in America and were derived from surveys sent out to thousands of law firm clients, lawyers, marketing officers and recruiting officers. The surveys asked each person what “factors were considered vital for clients hiring law firms, for lawyers choosing a firm to refer a legal matter to, and for lawyers seeking employment.”